9.23.2016

Hero Arts has released a fantastic new special edition stamp + die set as part of Simon Says Stamp's STAMPtember celebration. Check it out here! I've created a clean and simple single layer card featuring watercolor stripes and a couple of the smaller images from the set along with the main message. Just love that bold script!

How cute is the slice of pumpkin pie? With whipped cream, of course. :)

There's a lot of goodness packed into this little set...

I love that you can use the word "thanks" alone or paired with "giving" to create holiday and non-holiday cards alike. I see myself using the "thanks" stamp to make many thank you cards long after Thanksgiving has passed. The small images would also be great to use on place cards for the Thanksgiving table.

6.15.2016

Welcome to my stop on the Hero Arts Color Layering Blog Hop! Click here to start from the beginning, or keep reading and follow the links at the end of this post. Hero Arts is giving away five awesome prize packs...more on that in a bit!

A few months back I was tasked with a super fun assignment – to select four existing Hero Arts ink colors to go along with the Color Layering Ice Cream stamp set. Hello? Count me in. It turned out to be more of a challenge than I anticipated, only because I wanted to pick ALL the yummy ice cream colors! :) I mean, those cute scoops look delicious in just about any color. I finally narrowed it down to a favorite flavor straight from our freezer – mint chip! A four-cube ink pack called Tami's Mint Chip was born and so was this card...

Since the ink cube pack contains dark brown, that can pull triple duty for the top layer of the cone, the chips, and the sentiment. As for the pink stripes in the background, those are watercolored. The only inks used on this card are the four included in the pack. The coordinating dies make quick work of cutting out the cone and scoops.

Glossy Accents is perfect for adding shine and dimension to the chocolate chips. It doesn't show well in the photo, but it's there, I promise! ;)

I love that Hero Arts has grouped the stamps, dies and inks all together in one bundle. Makes it so easy to shop...and you'll save some money this way too!

You can now find all of the bundles, as well as the individual products from the Color Layering Catalog, here in the Hero Arts shop.

***GIVEAWAY*** Hero Arts is giving away a Color Layering Bundle of choice to five lucky blog readers, selected from comments left across all blogs in the hop. Comments close Sunday, June 19 at 11:59pm PT, and Hero Arts will announce the winners the following week.

Thanks for stopping by! Before you hop along to Libby's blog to see some gorgeous orchids, leave a comment and let me know your favorite ice cream flavor and you'll be entered in the giveaway. Happy summer and happy stamping!

2.08.2016

Hello and welcome to the Hero Arts 2016 Catalog Blog Hop! If you’re here from Clare Prezzia's blog, then you’re in the right place. If not, you may want to backtrack to the Hero Arts blog and start from the very beginning.

All of the stamps, dies, stencils and inks you've been seeing during this hop are officially available in the Hero Arts shop as of today, and shipping is free on all US orders over $50! Here's a look at a few of the fun new products I'll be using on my cards today...

Neon Red to Purple Ombré Ink • Neon Chartreuse to Blue Ombré Ink

Pearl Strings Bold Prints Cling Background (CG688)

I started by inking the large 6x6-inch Pearl Strings background with the neon ombré pads and stamping onto white cardstock. Because the stamp is large, you'll be able to repeat the ombré gradation a couple of times. I just love these bright, happy colors!

These backgrounds would be perfect for birthday cards and invitations, but today I decided to make some simple "hello" cards using another new stamp I love -- the Dotted Hello.

The sentiment panel is mounted flat against the card base, while the stamped background pieces are cut and raised with foam tape. To create the solid ombré look, I simply blended each of the three colors from the inkpad with a sponge dauber onto white cardstock. Once that was dry, I white heat embossed the Dotted Hello on top. A couple of thin gold strips finish off the cards. So easy!

There are many great 6x6 Bold Prints background stamps in this release. Here's a peek at some of the others you may be interested in...

BLOG HOP GIVEAWAYS! Hero Arts is giving away four $25 shopping sprees, drawn from comments left across all blogs in the hop. Comment by 11:59pm PT on Sunday, February 14, and they will announce the winner on the Hero Arts blog the following week. Hop along and comment for more chances to win!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Your next stop on the hop is the sweet and talented Libby Hickson.

I've been itching to ink up the new Bold Cheers stamp and thought it might be fun to pair it with some watercoloring and gold embossing. Here are the clean and simple designs I came up with:

One layer card obsession in full effect :)

The watercolored backgrounds were actually created with Hero Arts Sprays. I pre-wet the watercolor paper with clean water
using a paintbrush, creating the area where I wanted the color to go. Then I
sprayed the inks onto my craft sheet, picked the color up with a fairly
wide, flat brush, and let the colors spread onto the paper. It's so cool to watch them
move -- and stop right at the edge of where the water was applied. Like magic.

Make sure the backgrounds are completely dry before you stamp and gold emboss the message, otherwise you'll end up with powder in places you don't want it. If that does happen, you can always sweep it away with a fine tipped paintbrush before embossing.

The Hero Arts Sprays are also perfect for adding little dots here and there. Simply unscrew the bottle and tap the end of the spraying mechanism onto the paper. Here I used both the white and gold shimmer sprays.

BLOG HOP GIVEAWAYS! Hero Arts will be giving away one GRAND PRIZE that includes an assortment of stamps, inks, stencils and dies valued at over $75. Two $10 Hero Arts Online Store gift cards will also be awarded. The three prize winners will be randomly selected from all comments received on the participating designers' blogs, so the more comments you leave along the hop, the better your odds of winning! Comment by 11:59pm PST on Thursday, October 2 for a chance to win. The winners will be announced on the Hero Arts blog on Friday, October 3.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Your next stop on the hop is the amazing Cheiron Brandon.

Hero Arts has just released this sweet Bottle Brush digi kit and I couldn't resist using it for today's card. Check out the kit preview -- so many fun options with this one!

And here's the personalized Christmas card I came up with. The bottle brush trees bring a touch of nostalgia to an otherwise modern design. This one would be ideal for assembly line cardmaking and is also mail-friendly.

Here's a look at how I created the trees. (I use GIMP, a free image editing program.) After opening the bottle brush tree stamp, I recolored it green using the "Colorize" feature. Then I dropped the solid circle image from the kit onto the tree, colored it white, and duplicated it several times in various sizes like so...

Once the green tree was complete, I saved it and added it to a new blank canvas three times. I recolored two of the trees -- one red, one pool. You can see in the screenshot below how I used guides to make sure everything was lined up. Once the trees were in place, I dropped in the message (recolored gray) and added "from the Hartley family" to personalize the card. The font I used for that part was F25 Executive.

At this point I merged the layers, saved the image, and printed it onto white watercolor paper. If you were mass producing the cards, you could fit four of these onto a standard piece of 8.5 x 11" cardstock.

Now about that giveaway! To add extra fun to the hop, A2Z Scrapbooking will be giving away a $50 gift certificate to one lucky commenter. Prize winners will be randomly selected from ALL comments received on the participating designers’ blogs. The more comments you leave along the hop, the better your odds of winning, so be sure to comment on every blog, starting with this one! You have until Sunday, August 31st at 11:59pm EST to leave your comments and the winner will be announced on September 3rd on the A2Z Scrapbooking blog.

To continue the hop please click over to the blog of the fabulous Kelly Latevola. If you encounter a broken link while hopping, you can always head back to the beginning for links to everyone who's participating.

6.06.2014

Hello and welcome to the Hero Arts + BasicGrey Grand Bazaar Blog Hop! If you’ve arrived from Audrey Pettit's blog, you’re in the right spot. If not, you may want to click back to the Hero Arts blog to make sure you don't miss a thing!

Inspired by the fabulous colors and patterns in the Grand Bazaar collection, I created a pair of "hello" cards. Here's a peek at both...

Grand Bazaar is the first BasicGrey collection to include stencils! To create the background on the first card, I sponged Unicorn White pigment ink (best white ink ever) through the Leaf and Flourish stencil onto black cardstock. After removing the stencil, I softened the look by rubbing the sponge in a circular motion all over the stenciled piece. It reminds me of a very dusty, well-used chalkboard.

For the second card, I created a multicolor background using the Diamond Background cling stamp. Instead of trying to precisely apply various inks directly to the stamp, I stamped it separately using four different ink colors, cut out each strip, and then adhered them to the card. The ink colors were pulled directly from the "Hello There" chipboard piece shown below.

I like the added dimension the cut-out strips bring to the card -- it almost looks like it could have been die cut.

GIVEAWAY! Hero Arts and BasicGrey have generously offered up TWO Grand Bazaar prize packs that include loads of paper, embellishments, clear and cling stamps, and stencils...

Two lucky winners will be randomly selected from all comments received on the participating designers' blogs. Comment by 11:59pm PDT on Wednesday, June 11 for a chance to win, and be sure to comment at each stop along the hop to increase your chance of winning!

2.27.2014

Hi there! Today I have the honor of joining the Hero Arts + BasicGrey Spice Market Blog Hop. If you’re here from Audrey Pettit's blog, then you’re in the right place! If not, you may want to backtrack to the Hero Arts blog and start from the beginning.

Today we are highlighting the beautiful Spice Market collection. Swoon. It's a little exotic, a little ornate...and a LOT gorgeous.

For the first card, I stamped the Flower Symbol Background with white pigment ink onto kraft cardstock. Then to add some extra color and interest, I stamped dots with a pencil eraser as shown. It's a quick and simple way to give a background stamp a different look.

I cut a piece from the Snippets Pad for the focal message and popped it onto the card with adhesive foam. I also stamped a matching liner for the envelope, using the same background stamp as before. Hero Arts Dark Quartz ink is a really nice color match for the line.

A big and bold cardstock sticker (also from the Collection Pack) takes center stage. A white embossed message and a few gold sequins finish it off.

GIVEAWAY TIME! Hero Arts and BasicGrey are offering up two amazing prizes. Take a look at the Spice Market goodness...

That's right, they are giving away not one, but two complete Spice Market collections -- including paper, embellishments, clear and cling stamps! The two winners will be randomly selected from all comments received on the participating designers' blogs. Comment by 11:59pm PST on Sunday, March 2 for a chance to win, and be sure to comment at each stop along the hop to increase your odds of winning.